Libya: Haftar forces kill 5 children, injure 10 others

By Gulsen Topcu

TRIPOLI (AA) - At least five children were killed and 10 others injured on Sunday when forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an airstrike in Swani, a residential area in the south of the Libyan capital, according to the Ministry of Health.

Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) also announced that an airplane belonging to Haftar’s forces crashed in an area roughly 18 miles southwest of Tripoli.

In April, Haftar’s forces launched a military campaign to capture Tripoli from the internationally recognized GNA but has so far failed to make advances beyond the borders of the capital.

Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit in Ankara